Even though I am inviting another round of chastisement, ridicule and general abuse, I must congratulate the Atlantic City City Council for granting casinos a year-long delay in implementing the full smoking ban.

The council, to its credit, grasped the fundamental point of banning smoking at this time: An already under-siege industry would be forced to absorb yet another financial body blow if smoking were prohibited on all areas of the casino floor. The September revenue numbers told the story: A decline unprecedented in three decades of legalized gambling. Simply put, this is not the time to make it even harder for the casinos to keep the customers they still have.

I really don't want to get into the same argument some of us had a little while back concerning the merits and necessity of total smoking prohibition. I understand the health risks of second-hand smoke. And, yes, in a perfect world, smoking would be banned.

But in case you haven't noticed, we don't live in a perfect world. Thousands of people--already hurting from the fallout of a once-in-a-century economic meltdown--could be rendered unemployed if smokers boycott AyCee in favor of more nicotine-friendly jurisdictions. It's fine--admirable even--to despair of employees' health. But what good will a ban do if it causes those employees to lose their jobs?

This is a no-win situation. Ban smoking, and you most likely exacerbate the revenue freefall. Allow it, and you put employees (and guests) in harm's way.

But in an impossible situation, City Council stepped up and did the right thing.

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